Topic 8 Notes

I War with Spain

A. Cuba and Puerto Rico were the last
remnants of the Spanish empire in
America

B. Rebellion broke out periodically in

Cuba and a major one broke out in 1895

C. General Weyler developed a

“reconcentration” policy that killed
thousands

D. Yellow Journalism in America spurred

the calls for war

E. McKinley favored restraint but did

give tacit support to the Cubans

F. Feb. 15, 1898- The battleship Maine

blew up in Havana Harbor, Spain was
blamed
G. March 1898, Congress gave McKinley
$50 million for defense

H. Spain rejected McKinley’s offer for

peace in Cuba and on April 25, Congress
declared war

I. Teller Amendment said the US would

not annex Cuba

J. The war was short and was over by

August

K. More men volunteered than were

needed. They were often ill-equipped,
bringing their own supplies from home

L. Tropical diseases and bad food killed

more men than bullets

M. Black soldiers fought well but faced

discrimination at home

M. The Americans were able to quickly

take control of Cuba, Philippines, and
Puerto Rico
N. 5,500 men died, 379 in battle
II. Acquisition of Empire
A. Treaty of Paris- Spain recognized
Cuban independence and assume its
debt, Puerto Rico and Guam were ceded
to the US, and the US would annex the
Philippines for $20 million

B. The anti-imperialist league formed to

stop the treaty. They included Andrew
Carnegie and Samuel Gompers and they
had a variety of reasons to oppose the
treaty

C. The vote was hard fought but finally

ratified after fighting broke out in the
Philippines

D. The Philippine-American war broke

out when Emilio Aguinaldo realized the
US was not going to grant them
independence
E. It lasted 3-4 years and claimed 4,300
American lives

F. America had to adopt Weyler like

tactics to control the people and
between 50 and 200 thousand died

G. July 4, 1946, the Philippines were

granted independence

H. A series of court cases ruled that

citizenship did not necessarily follow the
flag

I. Cuba was given independence in 1902

but not before the Platt amendment was
added

[Link] treaties with foreign nations

2. No debts it could not pay
3. Lease on Guantanamo Bay
J. The Open Door Policy in China was
designed to allow all nations access to
China’s markets and maintain China’s
independence

K. The Boxer Rebellion in 1900 tried to

push out the foreign invaders but failed
after western nations sent in troops

III. A New world power

A. From 1901-1920, the US foreign policy
was nationalistic and aggressive.
Presidents largely did what they wanted

B. Hay-Pauncefote treaty of 1901 with

Britain gave the US the right to build a
canal in Central America

C. The site was chosen in Panama, which

was actually part of Columbia, when
Columbia backed out of the deal, the US
supported a Panamanian Revolution

D. Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty gave the US

a zone 10 miles wide for $10 million and
$250,000 a year
E. In 1921 the US paid Columbia $25
million for its actions

F. The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe

Doctrine. The US took the right to
intervene in the affairs of Latin America
to keep foreign powers out

G. It usually involved taking over the

customs houses

H. The Taft-Katsura agreement

recognized Japan’s dominance of Korea
in exchange for a pledge not to invade
the Philippines

I. Relations strained between Japan and

the US when California put limits on
Japanese citizens and children

J. Tafts “dollar diplomacy” involved

having American banks take over the
loans of Latin American nations from
Europeans

IV. Foreign policy under Wilson

A. Woodrow Wilson conducted much
foreign policy on his own. He believed in
“moral diplomacy”, designed to bring
right, peace, and democracy to the world

B. William Jennings Bryan was his first

Sec. Of State and believed it was the
duty of the US to help less fortunate
countries

C. When Porfio Diaz, in 1911, was

overthrown in Mexico, the US had over
$1 billion in investments but the
Mexican people were desperately poor

D. By 1913 Huerta had come to power in

Mexico and Wilson refused to recognize
him

E. The US tried to stop arms shipments

to Mexico and invaded the city of
Veracruz, which turned all of Mexico
against the US
F. Carrenza followed Huerta, and the US
recognized him. This prompted Poncho
Villa to raid US cities to get the US to
oust Carrenza

G. Gen. Pershing pursued Villa deep into

Mexico but were forced to retreat

V. Toward war
A. WWI broke out in Europe in1914
B. Competition, entangling alliances, and
the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
were all part of the cause of the war

C. Wilson Asked America to remain

neutral in thought and action

D. Progressives feared the war. They

were afraid the war would end reform at
home and kill millions of people

E. They also disliked Britain and the

international finance it represented
while Germany pioneered many social
reforms

F. As a nation of immigrants, many

Americans had ties to home countries

G. As a whole, more Americans

supported the
H. Allied powers due to a common
culture. The Germans seemed militaristic
and arrogant

I. Propagandists worked on both sides

J. Under international law, neutral ships
could trade non-military goods with
belligerent nations, Britain blockaded
German ports and limited American
goods

K. Britain cut off all American trade with

Germany but agreed to buy the
difference
L. U-boats were the only hindrance to
trade with the allies, and it spurred one
of the greatest industrial booms in
history

M. By 1917, Allied governments had

loans of $2 billion compared to $27
million for Central powers

N. U-boats stretched the limits of

international law After the Lusitania and
Arabic were sunk, Wilson demanded
Germany protect passenger and
merchant ships

O. Sussex Pledge- Germany would not

attack passenger and merchant ships
but American would have to get the
allies to stop the blockade

P. Wilson defeated Charles Hughs in the

1916 on the theme “he kept us out of
the war”
Q. Wilson worked for “peace without
victory” all sides rejected in reality

R. Feb. 1, 1917, Germany announced it

would sink any ship in German or French
waters

S. April 2, 1917, Wilson asked congress

for war which passed on April 6

VI. Over there

A. When the war began, the US was not
prepared with backward weapons and no
war plans

B. Congress passed the selective service

Act which registered 24.2 million men
and drafted 2.8 million

C. Overall, 9 million soldiers and 15

million civilians died in the war

D. New weapons of artillery, poison gas,

grenades, and machine guns took heavy
tolls in trenches of Europe
E. March 21,1918 Germany launched a
massive final assault that took them 50
miles from Paris

F. Nov. 11, Germany signed the

Armistice

G. AEF lost 49,000 men killed and

230,000 wounded. 112,000 total died,
many from the Spanish flu

VII. Over here

A. Committee on Public Information was
formed to sell the war to the American
people, it was headed by George Creel

B. The art community stepped in to

produce films, art, and music to stir
public emotions

C. Names were changed, Germans were

harassed or killed and German language
classes were banned
D. Wilson encouraged the repression,
partly because he hated criticism

E. Espionage Act put people in prison for

aiding the enemy, obstructing
recruitment, or encouraging disloyalty

F. Sedition Act- Harsh punishment for

using disloyal, profane, scurrilous or
abusive language about the government,
flag or armed forces

G. Big Bill Haywood fled to the Soviet

Union

H. Conservatives used the war to stamp

out Socialism and Eugene V. Debs spent
several years in prison

I. The hostility and hated led to the Red

Scare after Russia went Communist

J. The war cost $32 billion in direct costs

K. War Industries board oversaw the
production of American factories
L. Herbert Hoover led the Food
Administration

M. Felix Frankfurter headed the War

Labor Board, the AFL traded labor peace
for better wages and social justice
reforms

N. Women fared better during the war

but did not enter the workforce en mass
like WW II

O. The Great Migration saw ½ million

blacks leave the South for better jobs in
the North

P. The US went from a debtor nation to a

creditor nation in a little over a year

VIII. Treaty of Versailles

A. After the Bolshevik government in
Russia began releasing the secret
agreements made between the allies,
Wilson released the 14 points put the
war on a higher plane
B. The 14 points failed to take the
wartime emotions into account

C. Wilson made the peace part of the

1918 election which alienated
Republicans. He also only took one
Republican with him to the peace talks

D. Germany was forced to accept the

blame and pay reparations of $33 billion.
Wilson did not get the league of Nations
passed

E. There was tremendous opposition in

the Senate

F. Oct. 2, 1919, Wilson suffered a major

stroke

G. The treaty went down to failure and in

1921 the congress finally passed a joint
resolution ending the war